Instead of paying a premium for an Aroldis Chapman reunion, the Cubs have leveraged their outfield surplus for a less costly replacement.
Wade Davis, a stalwart in the Royals' lockdown bullpen, will become the Cubs' new closer in a trade between the last two World Series champions that became official Wednesday afternoon, MLB.com reported.
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Working to shave salary, the Royals will receive slugger Jorge Soler and the four seasons of team control that comes with him.
Davis, 31, has a 1.18 ERA over the past three seasons, allowing just three home runs. The right-hander was limited to 43 1/3 innings in 2016 while dealing with throwing arm issues that twice landed him on the disabled list but still logged a 1.87 ERA and 27 saves in his first season as the Royals' full-time closer.
He's set to make $10 million next season before becoming a free agent in 2018.
That's significantly cheaper than whatever the Cubs might have given Chapman, the flamethrowing top free-agent reliever who joined the franchise at the trade deadline last season and helped deliver its first world championship in 108 years.
Chapman, 28, is said be seeking a six-year contract in excess of $100 million on the open market.
The Cubs instead used their outfield glut to shore up perhaps their only weakness — the bullpen. And, like the Boston Red Sox in their trade for Chris Sale, showed why paying big money up front to sign raw international talent can be a fruitful trade-off in the long run.
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Chicago signed Soler to a massive nine-year, $30 million contract in 2012, when he was a 20-year-old Cuban defector. The investment gained steam in recent seasons as Soler fulfilled his big league potential and cracked the Cubs' crowded outfield. He had a down year at the plate in 2016 with a disappointing .238/.333/.436 slash line, but the right-handed hitter's power has increased in each of his three MLB seasons, and he'll be just 25 by opening day 2017.
Soler is under the Royals' control through the 2020 season, no doubt the driving force behind his inclusion in the trade.
David Glass, the team's owner, made it clear at the beginning of the offseason that Kansas City's payroll would not increase in 2017. In line with that mandate, the Royals are also reportedly shopping outfielders Lorenzo Cain and Jarrod Dyson.
